Bicycle Mechanics - Are all Shimano 9sp sprockets created equal?

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doonster
06-11-03, 09:42 AM
Apart from materials (obviously) are 9sp sprockets of the same design - i.e. could I get a road cassette and use it for MTB (or vice versa?

I was thinking about creating a custom MTB cassette using a road set as basis and changing out the larger sprockets. I don't much like the large gaps between MTB gears and don't use anything less than about 25 gear-inches (below that I find it easier to walk) so was thinking about running something like a 13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-28 combo.

captsven
06-11-03, 11:04 AM
All Shimonster 9spd cassettes are spaced the same and are all compatible.

What you pay the big bucks for is weight savings.
Michel Gagnon
06-11-03, 08:38 PM
You sure can. Sheldon Brown actually sells custom cassettes from Shimano offerings + 1 or 2 cogs (see http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris.k7.html ), and I have on my touring bike a cassette with 12-14-15-16-17-19-21-25-32, which I created with a 12-25 and a 11-32.

A few points to remember:

- MTB vs Road : marketing differenciation only. IOW, take the gearings you want.

- Quality: The lower levels (HG-50, HG-70, 105) are made of individual cogs bolted or riveted together. Remove the rivets or bolts if you want and swap cogs with other series. The higher series put the 3 to 5 largest cogs on a spider to save weight; however, you must swap these cogs in series... not a good idea for customisation. The only advantage of the spider construction (and of Titanium) is weight saving, not durability.

- In theory, you should be able to find individual cogs. I don't think many shops offer them separately, however...

Regards,

sch
06-12-03, 08:38 PM
"What you pay the big bucks for is weight savings. "

In this regard I recently changed my DuraAce 12-27 cassette
for an Ultegra 12-27 and out of curiosity weighed the stacks
and was surprised that the Ti DA weighed 6.3oz and the Ultegra
was 8oz. Hardly worth the $30-40 difference. XT-XTR differences
are larger, correlating with the larger rings, still not worth it.
Reason for change was new (3d) chain at 7kmi started skipping on the original cassette. The DA was OEM on the bike. Steve